Hearing, Taste & Movement

Question 1

What are the 2 reasons for body parts to be built in a specific way

Answer 1

1. serve a specific function

2. are influence by the evolutionary history

Question 2

why are our sense organised?

Answer 2

respond to biologically relevant stimuli = sensory systems are specialised

Question 3

what is taste measure by?

Answer 3

papillae and fungiform papillae (= the one on the end of the tongue)

Question 4

what effects people taste sensitivity?

Answer 4

the number of fungiform papillae

Question 5

what do taste buds do?

Answer 5

release neurotranmitters to excite nearby neurons

Question 6

what are the 4 types of taste?

Answer 6

1. sweet
2. salty
3. sour
4. bitter

Question 7

how does the brain encode the taste?

Answer 7

1. taste nerves
2. medulla
3. insula (taste) and somato-sensory cortex (touch function)

Question 8

how do we detect smell?

Answer 8

1. olfactory receptor cells

2. olfactory bulb

Question 9

what is vomeronasal sensation (in nonhuman mammals)

Answer 9

detect specific chemical compounds contained within scent
e.g.,
Snakes use this organ to sense prey, sticking their tongue out to gather scents and touching it to the opening of the organ when the tongue is retracted

Question 10

what is sound?

Answer 10

sound waves - a complex set of acoustic information is transferred

Question 11

what is the frequency of a sound wave? (Hertz)

Answer 11

= number of compression per time

- relates to perceived pitch

Question 12

what is amplitude of a sound wave?

Answer 12

= intensity of the sound wave

- relates to perceived loudness

Question 13

stages of detecting sound (waves)

Answer 13

1. Pinna (outer ear)
2. Tympanic membrane (eardrum)
3. Cochlea (3 fluid tunnel)
4. Vibration displace hair cells in cochlea
5. Auditory nerve (nerve bundle)

Question 14

travel of sound to the brain

Answer 14

1. Ear
2. Cochlear nucleus
   (crossover)
3. Primary auditory cortex

Question 15

why can we distinguish between frequencies?

Answer 15

• basilar membrane of cochlea (place theory & frequency theory)
• primary auditory cortex

Question 16

what are the two causes of deafness?

Answer 16

• constructive deafness: damage of bones of the middle ear
  (disease, tumours, infection)
• nerve deafness: damage of cochlea, hair cells, auditory nerve
  (inherited, prenatal problems, rubella in mother)

Question 17

what does the vestibular organ do?

Answer 17

detects position and movement of head = crucial for balance

Question 18

how do we understand where we are? (vestibular sensation)

Answer 18

1. head moves
(within the 3 semicircular canals)
2. calcium carbonate particles move against hair cells
3. brainstem
4. cerebellum

Question 19

why are there 3 canals?

Answer 19

represents three dimensions

Question 20

name two movement disorders

Answer 20

• huntington’s disease

- parkinsons disease

Question 21

what is huntington’s disease

Answer 21

motor disorder: arm jerks, facial twitches, severe body movement

psychological: depression, anxiety, hallucinations

strong genetic influence

Question 22

what is parkinson’s disease

Answer 22

motor disorders: tremor, rigidity, slowness

cognitive disorders: imagining movement and events (difficulities)

causes: genetic & exposure to toxins

Question 23

how do we move?

Answer 23

1. brain
2. spinal cord
3. skeletal muscles

Question 24

what is the cerebral cortex in control of

Answer 24

complex movements (many voluntary actions)

Question 25

are posterior parietal cortex, supplementary motor cortex & prefrontal cortex in the cerebral cortex?

Answer 25

yes

Question 26

is the cerebellum and basal ganglia in the cerebral cortex?

Answer 26

no

Question 27

what is neuromuscular junction?

Answer 27

synapse of muscle fibre and motor neuron axon

Question 28

what neurotransmitter is release by axons to cause muscle contractions?

Answer 28

Acetylcholine